Power roof ventilator



R. A. GERLlTz POWER ROOF VENTILATOR 2 Sheets-5heet l 4llllllllll.l.ll..1ll .l

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Feb. 9, 1954 Filed Aug.

Feb- 9, 1954 R. A. GERLITZ POWER ROOF VENTILATOR 2 Sheets-Shee; 2

Filed Aug. 16. 1950 Zmventor IEW/BEN GEWA/frz,

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`Aprotection forI the damper-'- blade bearings.

Patented Feb. 9, 1.954

lumTirso PATENT or-Fics rowennoor vEN'rILAToR Reuben 'Gerlitz, @Sfpringieldf Ohio, assignor y'to poration-fof; Ohio Springeldfiohio', a cdr- Application August .16, 1950, Serial No. 179,735

1 "This-invention relates to-apower'roof ventilator having a built-in or attached fanfor ex'- hausting air from "buildings such as vfoundries, steel mills, processing plants, grain elevators,

-conventionhalls and variousother 'places where it is Vdesirable to remove warm, moist, dust-.laden or contaminated air.

Various measureshave been ',takenin the past in connection with ventilators of 'this type to particles which are present. inthe air and which eventually clogs up'the drain'holes atithe ends jof 'the gutter whereupon water Vwould Work its lway over the edge ofthe vgutter and fall .onto

and' through the fanandin some cases cause an accumulation of water onthe 'floor'below With .theforegoing difcultiesin mind, it is an object of the'present invention' to provide `a simple and eicientipower'roof-ventilator which is not subj ect to. the 'disadvantages-'of prior Aconf structions. :tion-to provide a ventilator of'thetypediscussed 'above which is'positivelyzprotecte'd'against rainif all, even under .cloudburst conditions.

It is another object ofthe inven- Yet another 'object of the inventionis Vtojproviderrain A-11 other object ofthe invention is to increase the 'life vof the :damper'blades by VVreducing bending 'fatigue vand surface contact Wear.

Still. another iobject of the invention involves the provision of "a simple rain trough integral withthe damper .blade which will be effective to amounting for the fan ,andftog provide `a gravity `'air ventto protect theffan. motor fromthefcondensatien of moisture ,thereonv l during periods vwhen the fan is Shut down.

i-These and other objects of the invention which VlWhich-'.willbe apparent to onezskilledintheA art suponzreading these .A specifications I accomplish by that certain construction and arrangement of parts of which I shall now disclose certain exemplary embodiments.

will be described in more detail'hereinafter or'l Reference is made to the drawings -forming a part hereof and in which:

iFigure l1 -is a plan Aview of a Y`ventilator ac- `cording to the invention.

'Figure2 is a crosssectional view'of theV same takenzon the line 2 2of Figure 1.

Figure 3 isa fragmentary cross section'al'view taken on the line 3--3 of Figure 1.

4Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary "perspective viewl with parts insection ofthe inner'member and the damper fblade.

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary cross sectional view showing apreferred mounting construction for the fan ring tothe inner ventilator member and to the ventilator base.

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure -5 showing another method of mounting.

Figure 7 is a view'similar to Figures'a-nd showingstill another method of mounting.

Briey, inthe practice of myinvention'Ipro'- vide a sheet-metal Aassemblyconsisting of abase, an inner cylindrical member and an outer cylindrical member or Windguard. The base member is constructed and designedto t on theroof of Vthebuilding to Vbe ventilated. The yfan and the inner member are mounted onV the base :with

the ,inner member-secured to the outletiace of .thefan .ring and being' approximately the same inside diameter as the fan ring ksowas' to pro- .fvide for a'smooth aerodynamically 'efcientiair flow. Two `damper blades Aare pivoted near vthe center at thetop of -the'inner member andrest against the' top of theinner'member by gravity. V'These damper'blades open automatically as the fan starts operatingand close-again as it stops. The outer: member or windguard surrounds the inner member and is of Ysuiiicient size to protect the `damper'action :from theforces of wind velocity, andY it is provided'with a circumferen- `tial opening `at'the bottom providing a space between it and the innercylinder to prevent any aspirating eects which would cause'the Adempers Lto `open and shut alternatively.

`:Referringnow more in detail to the'drawings,

thebaseis indicated at "I0, which" is seatedupon `a curb il onthe roof 2 of the'buil'cling to be Ventilated. The inner cylinder is indicated at VI3, andin'the construction of Figures. 1,f2 vand 51it'is providedwith a Vbase flange i4; by means of Whichit maye be 'secured tothe base I0. The iiange ring I4 may be riveted or otherwise suitably secured to the cylinder I'3. The fan ring motor I8 and blades I9, and the motor is mounted on the fan ring I by brackets 2U which may be spaced 120 degrees apart and suitably welded or otherwise secured as at 2l to the fan ring.

rihe outer cylinder or windguard is indicated at 22, and it is secured to the inner cylinder I3 by means of a plurality of Z-shaped brackets 23 suitably spaced around the periphery of the inner cylinder I3. The outer cylinder will preferably be provided with beads or corrugations 24 for stiifening purposes and a pair of damper stops 25 are secured across the outer cylinder 22 near the top thereof as best seen in Figure 2. The damper stops 25 further cooperate in bracing and rigidifying the structure of the windguard member 22.

As best seen in Figures 2 and 4, bearing plates 26 are suitably riveted, bolted or otherwise sev cured to the inner cylinder I3 at diametrically opposed positions. These plates are provided with bearings 2l for the pivot rods of the damper blades. The pivot rods are indicated at 28 which are welded or otherwise suitably secured to the under side of the damper blades 29. The upper edge of the inner cylinder I3 is sloped in diametrically opposite directions, as best seen in Figure 2, so that when the damper blades 29 which are semi-circular in shape are seated against the top of the cylinder I3 they slope outwardly and downwardly as best seen in Figure 2. It will be clear that the damper blades are of suicient length to overhang the upper edge of the cylinder I3 and they may be provided along their semi-circular edges with a bead or rolled edge as indicated at 30 to provide for additional strength. At their inner ends, which correspond substantially to the diameters of the semi-circular damper blades, they are provided with upstanding flanges 3I and return bent anges 32 for a purpose which will shortly be made clear. In order to strengthen the damper blades still further they may be provided with reinforcing members 33 which are preferably of a cross sectional shape as seen in Figure 3 and which are preferably disposed as shown in Figure 1. disposed in this manner they provide a triangular bracing structure which makes the damper blades extremely rigid.

A roof member 34 is welded or otherwise suitably secured to the opposite bearing brackets 26 r and extends over the inner edges of the damper blades, as best seen in Figures 2 and 4. The member 34 is long enough to extend endwise beyond the bearing brackets, as best seen in Figure 4 at 35, to protect the pivot rod bearings from the weather. Between the bearing brackets 2S the lateral edges of the roof member 34 are turned down as indicated at 36 beyond the up- `der so as to minimize condensation on the fan or motor.

When the damper blades are in their open position as indicated in broken lines in Figure 2 the flanges 3| and 32 provide gutters to catch 4 any rain which may enter by dripping down the outer faces of the damper blades 29.

From the foregoing it will be clear that I have provided a thoroughly rain-proof structure which is inexpensive and simple, While being thoroughly effective.

In Figures 6 and 7 I have shown alternative mounting arrangements which may be used. In both of these figures the fan ring and the flange I4 of the inner cylinder I3 are bolted together by means of the bolts I1, but instead of using these fastening means to secure the assembly to the base III, a flange I5a is provided on the fan ring which in the embodiment of Figure 6 is bolted to the base I0 by means of bolts I'Ia and which in the structure of Figure 7 is bolted not only to the base I0 but also to the curb I I by means of bolts set into the material of the curb and indicated at I'lb. The base I 0 in this case will preferably be provided with an upturned annular fiange IIJa to provide a water-tight mounting without the necessity of using roong compounds.

It will be clear from what has been said above that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention. and I therefore do not intend to limit myself in any way other than as set forth in the claims which follow.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A ventilator comprising a cylindrical casing substantially vertically disposed, a base flange on the lower end of said casing, a fan ring having an annular flange, means engaging said base flange and said annular iiange whereby said casing and said ring are secured together, a motor driven fan secured to said ring, the upper edge of said casing lying in two planes sloping downwardly and outwardly from a diameter of said casing, bearing brackets secured to said casing at each end of said diameter, a pair of damper blades of semi-circular shape adapted in their closed position to rest on the upper edge of said casing in said two planes, pivot rods secured to said blades adjacent their diametral edges, and having bearings in ysaid bearing brackets, the diametral edge of each of said blades being provided with an upwardly directed iiange terminating in an outwardly directed flange, and a roof element secured to said bearing brackets and having portions extending over said bearings to protect them from rain and the like, said roof element between said brackets having flanges depending downwardly outside the flanges on said blades and slightly spaced therefrom, to prevent access of rain while permitting slight air circulation when said blades are closed.

REUBEN A. GERLI'IZ.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,844,727 Van Vorst Feb. 9, 1932 2,295,451 Davis, Jr., et al Sept. 8, 1942 2,349,627 Kemmer et al May 23, 1944 2,439,271 Shaver Apr. 6, 1948 2,466,827 Roth Apr. 12J 1949 2,489,446 Biancani Nov. 29, 1949 2,492,242 Shaver Dec. 27, 1949 2,524,390 Lau Bach et al Oct. 3, 1950 

